I have done this exercise with vendor support. Ensure the vendor has correct, updated information on all machines including operation parameters. We found a fair number of wrong applications due to applying incorrect information. Expect some resistance from the craftsmen, as many had perceptions based on past experiences with certain lubes. Was effective for us - reduced inventory by approximately 40%.

Terrence,

I am in the process of attempting a lubrication consolidation program. The use of an independant third party was necessary to convince QA that we could change the brand of oil/grease for maintenance. Both the stores manager and I were of the opinion that we had too many different kinds of lubricants and had initially thought of using one of our vendors provide the input but thought better due to the probable pushback from QA.

The statement of work is fairly straight forward, given a list of equipment, list of lubricants and special requirements cGMP/FDA provide a set of specifications for purchasing lubricants by type and quantity. We currently have 55 gallon storage containers that have oil more than two years old in them. Will let you know what comes out of the program.

Ken Culverson

When I still worked for a large company a decision was made to go to 5 oils.
1) Hydraulic
2) spindle
3) Waylube
4) lighter gear
5) heavy gear
The biggest problem was machine warrenty. Some OEM wanted specific manufacture and some wanted a specific grade. The process worked well overall. The reason for the change was oil cleanliness, we set up five bulk oil recieving tanks and filtered the oil leaving the tanks going into our oiler carts.

I did a number of third-party consolidations, and wrote a paper on the topic. The key to success is the development of generic specifications for plant lubrication requirements which both minimizes the number of different products, and allows the company to leverage multiple plant needs in obtaining competitive bids from suppliers. This paper is available at
http://www.mrgcorp.com/white_papers.asp?aID=1033

Hope this is helpful. Contact me if you have any questions.

Rich Wurzbach
Maintenance Reliability Group
rwurzbach@mrgcorp.com

When we did it our lubricant supplier (Mobil) provided free detailed consultation. I assume this is available to everyone although maybe it depends on the volume of business you do with the supplier.